Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters

¹³ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. (Jer. 40)

Leaders should not lead by feeling, but should make decision based on solid data. Gedaliah had the responsibility to investigate fully the intelligence data given to him by Johana son of Kareah and all the army ofiicers. The death of Gedaliah  turned out a disaster for the whole community. 

Please read Jeremiah 40-43.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Please 

Brothers and Sisters

¹³ Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers still in the open country came to Gedaliah at Mizpah ¹⁴ and said to him, “Don’t you know that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them. (Jer. 40)

Leaders should not lead by feeling, but should make decision based on solid data. Gedaliah had the responsibility to investigate fully the intelligence data given to him by Johana son of Kareah and all the army ofiicers. The death of Gedaliah  turned out a disaster for the whole community. 

Please read Jeremiah 40-43.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Please 

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁷ Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live. ¹⁸ But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.’”¹⁹ King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.” (Jer. 38)

What do you fear most? There is a fear that removes all fears, the fear of the Lord. Zedekiah was afraid of the people; that was a wrong fear. Don't try to please men; instead the king should have chosen to have the fear of Lord which guarantees peace and protection.  

Please read Jeremiah 35-39.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
    for the Lord is good;
    his love endures forever.” (Jer. 33)

A grateful heart to the Lord Almighty is the door to abundant blessings in the life a the believer. A grateful is a joyful heart. In order for us to fill our heart with gratitude, we must count the blessings of the Lord daily. "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good, his love endures forever."

Please read Jeremiah 31-34.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jer. 29)

It is a simple truth to accept intellectually, in our head, that the prosperity of another person is the key to our own prosperity, but to accept it spiritually, in our heart, is very difficult. We may feel that life is a zero sum game, if one wins another must lose. But this is far from the truth. The truth is, we prosper together. We pray for your prosperity, you must also pray for other people prosperity.

Please read Jeremiah 27-30.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁴ Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death. (Jer. 26)

Do you have a supporter? Many Christians think since they have God, they don't need man. God was on Jeremiah's side, but still he needed a great supporter. "Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death." You should always be asking God for people to support you in your walk of life. One of the best gifts of God is the supporters that he puts in our life. They are with us no matter what. They are great blessings.

Please read Jeremiah 23-26.

May the Lord richly bless you! 

Brothers and Sisters,

¹³ Sing to the Lord!
    Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy
    from the hands of the wicked. (Jer. 20)

In the Beatitudes Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." People need the Lord. The sooner that we realize and acknowledge our need of God the sooner our situation will change.

Please read Jeremiah 19-22.

May the Lord richly bless you! 

Brothers and Sisters,

¹⁰ “I the Lord search the heart
    and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jer, 17)

God is a rewarder; people need to think right and feel right in order to get the right reward from God. Do you think about God often. Thinking about God is the greatest skills that someone can master, since God is the answer and has the solution to all of our issues.

Please read Jeremiah 15-18.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²² Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this. (Jer. 14)

One article says, "World ‘at a crossroads’ as droughts increase nearly a third in a generation." Another video screams, "World In The Grip Of A Severe Drought, Rivers Running Dry Around The Globe." What do you think of the drought situation in the world? 

Scientists and even the simple man of the street would laugh at Jeremiah 14:22 which implies that rain is from the Lord. But should they? They are too proud to admit what they do not understand. It  is time for the whole world to turn away from their worthless idols and turn toward God, otherwise the world will face greater and greater disasters. 

My hope is in the Lord because I believe that the Lord brings rain and send down showers. What do you believe? 

Please read Jeremiah 11-14. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²³ This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
    or the strong boast of their strength
    or the rich boast of their riches,
²⁴ but let the one who boasts boast about this:
    that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord. (Jer. 8)

In general we don't like people who boast directly about themselves or indirectly about their children, their friends, etc.  Does that mean that we, Christians, should not boast at all? There is only only boast which is acceptable, boasting in the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 10:17 we read, "But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.""

Please read Jeremiah 8-10.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,
    look around and consider,
    search through her squares.
If you can find but one person
    who deals honestly and seeks the truth,
    I will forgive this city. (Jer. 5)

One person can cause great blessings for many. May you be the one who causes the Lord to forgive a whole city, a whole town. 

Please read Jeremiah 5-7.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ (Jer. 3)

What kind of questions are you asking? God doesn't leave people, people leave God. The right questions are the questions that make us remember the goodness and the faithfulness of God toward us. 

Please read Jeremiah 2-4.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jer. 1)

I used to think that those words applied only to the prophet Jeremiah. What about us? Are we not known by God? We are all called to be witness of Jesus to the whole world. 

Please read Isaiah 65-66; Jeremiah 1.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

⁶ I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
    they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
    give yourselves no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes her the praise of the earth. (Is. 63)

Persistence in prayer is the key to success in prayer. Give yourselves no rest, and give the Lord no rest (Is. 63). It is a great joy to pray until you get a victory. The New Living Translation Bible translates Matthew 7:7 as, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you."

Please read Isaiah 62-64.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, (Is. 61)

In the United States, the middle class is indoctrinated with the notion that this country is a meritocracy, and everyone should be self sufficient. These myths are so pervasive that most people would go to the extreme of even turning down God's favor. They don't pray, they don't call on the name of the Lord for his blessings. They don't need God's help. That is a big mistake. 

Do you seek out God's favor in humility? Do you appreciate his favor? Lord I need you.

Please read Isaiah 59-61. 

May the Lord richly bless you!